


Send In The Clowns

by Bingeblossom



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, OOC characters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Proxies (Slender Man Mythos), Slenderverse, Slow Burn, questionable parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:02:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bingeblossom/pseuds/Bingeblossom
Summary: Jeff and Jack haven't been able to get along since day one. That's all gonna have to change once Slender decides to finally send them on a mission together.Domestic SlenderMansion fluff with a touch of wacky hijinks
Relationships: BEN (BEN Drowned) & Tobias Erin "Toby" Rogers | Ticci Toby, Laughing Jack & Sally (Creepypasta), Laughing Jack/Jeffrey Woods | Jeff The Killer
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *drags my hands over my face* Do people even read Creepypasta anymore?  
> I've been on and off writing the rough draw for this for 3 years now so sorry if updates are slow; I've got school and all that. But yeah, this fic has been my baby for so long and I've final only now able to actually let people read it.  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> _italics for when Slender speaks_

Jeff lay on one of the old sitting room couches as BEN beat Toby in another match of Mortal Kombat. They had been at it for a least two hours now and he pretty much gave up on getting a chance to play. It wasn't like he couldn't just grab the remote for Toby and start playing, BEN wouldn’t care if he did, but Toby? Now he would definitely care, It made him think if it was really worth the screaming and complaining that he would get from it, especially if he grabbed it when it seemed even for a second that Toby might be winning against BEN. No, it was much easier to just wait it out until the brunette got tired of being beat and tossed down the remote.

So he continued to lay there waiting, fighting off sleep, it was never wise to drift off where just anyone could stumble across you; especially in common rooms. “Jeff?!.... Jeff?!.........Jeff!” The killer rose from the couch and stretched out his back, a loud pop could be heard and he sighed in relief.

“Jeff!” Masky shouted as he rounded the corner of the common room, “what!” he shouted back, giving the other man a dirty look. “Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you.” Masky said, looking rather annoyed. “Not my fault you weren’t looking in the right places” the other killer said, turning back around in his seat.

“Not looking in the right what? Masky seethed in outrage. “Yah Yah, now what do you want?” said Jeff, completely ignoring the other man, Masky huffed in frustration and disbelief. “Ugh, Fine! Whatever, just hurry up and come with me to the Master’s office, he's got a job for you.

The masked killer took off as quickly as he had come in and Jeff followed after him at his own pace.

‘Finish him’ “Nooooooo!!” Jeff heard from the room he had just left. 

“Toby, this is the 12th time I've beat you, can we just play something else now?”

“come on! One more round, Masky distracted me!!” “Ugh, fine” “Yes!”

He kept going like he had heard nothing, following after Masky with his angered walk. They both walked for some time through empty stairwells and hallways, making turns here and there. The mansion was built like a maze, lots of cross-ways and dead ends, very few of them actually leading anywhere. Only one set of stairs, tucked away behind the top floor master bedroom closet leads to where their going, and getting there is a bitch of a climb.

When he did finally make it to the master bedroom closet he knocked twice before entering and Masky closed the door behind him. Knowing how this works, he waited exactly ten minutes before starting to walk into a seemingly endless darkness. It isn't long until things start to lighten even in the dark he could see two giant oak doors;opening the doors Jeff was greeted with the imposing presence of his employer/landlord sitting behind his lavish desk and …. Oh…..oh fuck no, not this fucking clown! Why the hell is he here?! God he fucking hate that guy, what a jackass!

“Ugh” the killer made a start for the door until he felt a sharp pressure in his skull and winced slightly. _“Jeffery, come, take a seat, we've been waiting for you”_

The clown, who had before been smiling, now looked just as happy as Jeff did. With a heavy sigh he was on his way over to the opposite side of a perfectly placed couch, putting as much space between the two of them as he possibly could. Before him was a coffee table with tea cups already set up, two of which were already in use. Slender held up a teapot, silently offering him a drink. For a moment he thought of what he wanted to drink, that teapot, with it’s matching tea cups, could produce any drink he could want but it seemed only fitting to ask for tea. “I'll take Chamomile” He poured him a cup and he was almost surprised that it was only warm, taking a sip, of course, it was just how he liked it.

“Hm, thanks” Slender tipped his head in turn and the room was quiet for less than a minute before he heard Jack start to talk, ruining the almost found peace. “Wow Jeffy, I didn’t peg you of all people would know anything about tea." the clown tilted his head in thought be fore asking, "Are you into more foreign stuff or do you like the more commercial stuff? Personally I like peppermint over all that other fancy stuff, but if you do like stuff like that, there is nothing wrong with that, I mean back in the day I used to prefer a nice earl gray myself but I'm now more into sweet teas and blah blah blah blah blah.”

He blocked out the rest of Jacks one sided conversation the best he could, really it was amazing that the clown wasn’t already dead from sheer stupidity or that no one had taken initiative to get rid of him themselves. “Can we just get this over with Slender, I don’t know how long I can last with this guy around” he gestured at Jack. 

Jack flipped him the bird for the rejection for his attempt at light conversation.

Putting down his tea for now He sighed before settling down in his larger than average armchair before crossing his legs. _“Of course, it is about time we start”_ He handed him a heavy file with the words ‘ **Alpe d’ Huez** ’ on the cover and he opened it up.

_“I have selected both you and Laughing Jack to work as a team in covering this family skiing resort, in the file you will find your money and hotel reservations. I have already deployed Hoodie for scouting and he has taken the liberty of highlighting out of sight entryways and high vantage points._

_The objective of this mission is to kill one Dr. Jorvel of the SCP, and acquire a briefcase he is traveling with filled with information, the window for this mission is exactly two days._

_The plan I have created is for Jack to create a power outage, in the confusion he will start picking off the guests of the resort, during this , Jeff will go to Dr. Jorvel's room, kill him and take the briefcase that he has been safeguarding. Once you are done you will disappear into forest 2 km away that I will be able to import you back from.”_

As he finished, Jeff nodded his head in understanding, “Alright, seems doable, but first I need you to answer some questions for me.

One, if Hoodie has already been there long enough to mark out advantage points, and has a clear shot at the doctor then why am I needed?” _“Ah, well that is the thing, Hoodie has reported being unable to get a clear shot without his possible exits being blocked at the same time.”_ he signed,

“Figures, okay second question, I see why I'm needed then, but why the clown?”

Said clown growled in anger, "you cocky brat, hey boss, Why don’t you send just me instead of this rude shit hm, bet I could do it by myself and be back here in an hour, never mind two days!”Jack sneered.

Slender tilted his head in thought before responding to Jeff, _“Laughing Jack’s ability to drag mortals into his pocket dimension, his far reach and ability to warp reality will make him a very effective distraction, I have the utmost faith in him to be able to hold his own against any protection that the doctor may have brought with him that we are unaware of.”_

_“Jack”_ , he added, looking at the clown directly, _“I have considered sending you on your own, but I concluded that with the surplus of humans there at the moment, you would become distracted in your killing and lose sight of the objective. Therefore giving Jeffery the sloe mission of killing Dr. Jorvel instead of leaving it up to one person will be, I believe, much more effective. Your ability of teleportation may just be the thing that ends up saving you both in the end if this mission proves to be more complicated than first thought.”_

Jeff would have preferred to do this mission solo or at least with someone he at least liked but he couldn’t disagree with Slender on Jack’s powers. “Fine, I’ll take the mission,

what time do we leave?” _“Tomorrow morning at 8:00 would be best ”_

“Great, are we done now?”

_“Ah, one last thing,”_ Slender said putting down his tea and taking out the map from inside the information folder and gesturing at a circled a part of forest. _“When making your escape make sure to avoid this patch of forest,”_ he said, gesturing at the point he had just circled. _“Something resides in that place and the land there is cursed, I admit do not know what will happen if you go through it.” Placing the map back inside he added, “I will also not be able to retrieve you until you leave that patch if you get stuck in it.”_

Jeff rolled his eyes, “No problem, we just go around it”

He got up and walked out of the office without excusing himself; but he felt like he had already played tea party with Slender enough today.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning found the two killer standing in the entryway of the house; one with a bag in had in his hand and the other with nothing. Slender stood behind them arms crossed with Masky at his side. “ _Boys, I hope I don’t need to remind you that you must work together for this mission to be successful.”_ Jeff stopped himself for winching again at the feeling of Slender’s voice entering his mind. 

“Oh trust me I don’t think I'll be able to forget about an 8 foot clown lumbering behind me” Jeff commented before opening the door and starting off towards the thick forest of trees that surrounded the house.

“You sure this is a good idea Boss? Not saying that I want to back out of this now but I'm also not saying that I won’t kill him if he keeps being so mouthy.” Jack said looking as Jeff keep walking without him. 

“ _I know he can be difficult, but Jack, remember yourself at his age, please just bare with him.”_ Slender said, tone light. “Ha!, easy for you to say, you don’t have to spend a weekend with him!” 

_“Who knows, this weekend could prove to be very fruitful for your acquaintanceship.”_

Jack huffed, “If I didn’t consider you one of my oldest friends I’d tell you to shove it” he added and started after Jeff. Both of them watched until Jack was out of view,“Sir do you think their going to be alright?” Masky asked as he closed the door and they walked further inside. “ _I wouldn’t have sent them if I didn’t think they would be able to overcome at least some of the aggression they have towards each other.”_

 _"Beside",_ he added mockingly leaning down to whisper in Masky's ear, _"If anything this is going to be quite enjoyable to watch"._

* * *

Jeff walked along a well worn path threw Slender's domain, not bothering to wait for Jack. Zipping his coat up a bit higher and adjusting the bag on his shoulder as he quickened his pace at the sound of light footsteps coming closer. “Jeffy, there you are.” 

His footsteps joined Jeff's pace. There was silence after that until they reached the outskirts of the forest, a sheer curtain keeping them from the outside. Stepping through, they walked onto a forested highway with a van waiting for them parked on the side. 

Jack pulled the keys out of an unseen pocket and hopped into the front seat. Jeff tossed his bag in, laid down in the back and put his headphones in. “You're not forgetting anything are you? Last chance to say anything.” Jack said with his nose scrunch up, using the rear view mirror to look back at the other. Jeff huffed, “just drive clown, I want to get this over with a fast as possible.” 

“Fine, fine i’m going” Jack said, annoyed as he started the car. The ride through the french countryside was silent save for a few mumbles here and there after that. 

They arrived around 11 am, Jack parked the van in front of their cabin and got out, he stretched his legs and signed in relief as he opened up the backdoor to find Jeff still sleeping deeply with his arms crossed and his feet up on the seats. Jack stared at the other, he was oddly peaceful looking when he slept.

“Wake up Jeffy!” the clown shouted and banged the roof of the car with his fist. “Finally here at last, Come on rise and shine!” Jeff grumbled something incoherent and opened his eyes in annoyance, “if you don’t shut your trap i’m going lodge my foot so far up your ass your going to be seeing it through that ridiculous nose of yours.” he fumed as he took off his headphones. 

“Aww, Jeffy I didn’t know you could be so forceful , who sweet.” Jack exclaimed, ignoring Jeff’s sound of disgust and walking over to the cabin they would be sharing for the day. 

It was secluded and a bit run down but it was fine for the amount of time they would be in it for, they really didn’t need anything fancy to be honest. The clown walked up the stairs and pulled out a key for the door from his pocket, inside was a decently furnished living room that led into a small kitchen with a bedroom further back. 

Jeff pushed Jack out of the doorway and walked further into the cabin, going into the only bedrooms and locking the door.

“Rude!” the clown shouted after him, leaving Jack with the rest of the cabin to himself. The clown ventured around the little cabin, opening up all the cupboards and peering into the empty fridge. The cabin was equipped with a fireplace but the last tenant’s had left it open and used up the last of the firewood; leaving the soot to blow over the furniture and cake the floor.

Thankfully it didn’t borrow Jack much as he took a seat; a puff of smoke coming up. For show he sneezed and shook his head of the soot before picking up a magazine from off of a pile on the coffee table. Dated from 1996, it showed happy families in hi-lighter bright jumpsuits on snowboards, all smiling at the camera. He sat like that in the armchair for 2 hours, at some point hanging his legs over the top and sitting upside down. Ugh, he was bored. Jack flung the last magazine in the pile over the chair and kicked his legs. 

Jack did not often sleep but seeing as he had nothing to do… he figured he could give it a go. 

Closing his eyes, he tried to empty his mind but he kept thinking of what Sally, BEN, and Toby could be doing. What time was it there? Would they playing video games? Or maybe exploring outside? He wanted so badly to know what they were up to. Oh, not knowing was almost killing him!

He tried again to empty his mind. This time having a bit more success, he was able to clear his mind enough to remember on of his favorite memories. The time his box had ended up in a traveling oddities show. It was in the 1930’s and he had spent the better half of a decade traveling with the show. It had been filled with all sorts of other inhabited objects and the man who ran the show had been a rather kindhearted old thing who was very sympathetic to Jack’s ‘situation’. 

The clown had even made friends while he was there; a mask that went by Oto. They found joy in compelling their wearer to commit murder and in rare cases cannibalism. Loving to release the wearer only when the act had been done. They had both gotten on like a house on fire; in some cases literally. (they had once accidentally set a supply cart on fire) The oddities show had been picked up by a circus when the man had gotten too old and then in the 60’s when the circus had gone under, they had both been sold to pay off the ring leaders dept.

The last time Jack had seen Oto was in Kansas, though he had heard that the mask now lived in a museum in Germany. Thinking about those times made Jack miss when he was always traveling, he met so many new people that way. Killed so many people too but hey, he mentally shrugged, that's life. Before he knew it, Jack has been sitting upside down in the armchair till nightfall. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Jeff leaving the room he had claimed as his own and coming to stand in front of the clown.

“Oh, hey Jeffery, nice of you to finally join me,'' Jack said, pulling himself right side up. “Care to join me in absolute boredom?” the clown gestured to the room void of anything to do.

“Be in your presence longer then I have too? Not a chance.” Jeff walked over to the kitchen, “ we just need to go over a few little things” he opened up a cupboard to find a box of crackers. 

He picked up the box and shook it, he could hear a single item rattling inside.

“Yeah, what do ya want to go over? Plan seemed pretty simple”. Jack curiously watched the other. Looking over, Jeff rolled his eyes "Where are we gonna meet up?"

Before Jack could suggest a place, Jeff flipped the box upside down in his hand and a rather plump rat dropped out. It squeaked up at him and in shock he flung it up in the air. Jack caught the rat hurtling through the air and held it to his chest, slowly stroking it’s fur to calm it down as he struggled not to laugh.

Jeff sneered at the clown, who put the rat in his lap and held his hands up in innocence. It jumped down and scurried off behind a dead potted plant. He slammed the cupboard closed

“Ugh, what time are we leaving?” he turned to go back to his room; he clearly had already had enough of Jack. The clown looked out the window, “Get ready now and we can in ‘bout an hour.”

“Good,'' he said, walking off to be done with the situation he had found himself in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Both Killers waited at a backdoor that Slender had carefully marked on a map for them and just as they were informed at 10: 08 at the second; a young brunette opened the door with two bags of garbage in hand. Their head was bowed as they struggled to push open the door and carry both bags at the same time and had no way of seeing the killers grab them. 

A bit of pressure and it was over before the brunette could make a sound. The body was tossed into the dumpster along with the garbage bags and Jeff and Jack were inside. The two were met with a long hallway and kept going, ducking below a kitchen window, Jeff snagged a dinner roll from off of a baking trolley. They then slipping into a supply closet. Jeff pulled a map out of his sweater pocket, “OK, you keep going to the end of the hall and then make a right, that should bring you around to the dinning room, take out anyone you see. Keep on working threw the lounge and the front lobby. I'm going up the stairs to the service elevator; meet me in the back woods in 15”. 

Jack huffed, “Yeah, yeah, I know my job… see you in 15”. After that all Jack needed to do was touch the circuit box and the lights went out, both killers splitting up at breakneck speeds; Jack down the hall and Jeff up the stairs. 

Jeff reached the elevator with little trouble and got inside, there was bland music playing and it gave him a sense of irritation. When the elevator finally arrived at his floor, he walked out slowly and rounded the corner to find a handful of guards shining flashlights, trying to usher his target back into their room. Jeff smiled, it was still too dark and they had no way of knowing he was there yet. “I'm going to go see what's going on down there.” one of the guards provided for the killer, walking down the hall the other way. 

Some of the guard followed the Doctor into his room while the rest stayed outside. He silently ran at the closest one, covering their mouth and pulling them further into the darkness. A muffled shout, a bit of kicking, a deep slash right across the stomach and it was over; he let them slid to the floor and kept going. 

“Shit, where did Brent go?, I thought I told him to stay close” Jeff grabbed another guard and did it again, nice and easy. Again, he grabbed another, it was almost too easy, this time they managed to hit the wall hard on their way down. A dozen beams of light shot up in his direction and illuminated him. He dropped the latest one and stood up to his full height. 

“ Oh shit, it’s Jeff the killer!” 

He bolted for them all at once, they let loose a barrage of bullets but he kept going; powering through. He downed one, two, and then ducked out of the way. He let his knife sink into the neck of the closest one and then held them up like a shield, and waited till he started to hear the faithful sound of empty guns.

His makeshift shield was abandoned as he threw daggers from his back pocket at the guards farthest back, using one of his best hunting knives to fillet one about to throw a punch at him and stabbing another right in the chest who was getting a bit too close for comfort. 

One of them made a run for it, “well at least one of you has the right idea” he pulled out another knife, “though…. You're too slow” the killer practically sang and he flung the knife in the back of the fleeing guard; they went down without a problem.

There were four left and only one of them had managed to reload their gun. Two of them tried to rush him, both swerving in and out trying not to get hit, he kills both easily, stabbing them in the side and then walking towards the last two. 

The second to last one was shaking and whimpering so hard they dropped their guns before they could reload; he put they out of their misery with a slash to their throat and then made his way over to the last one. They quickly raised their gun and aimed for the killers head, “Stand down!” Jeff took a step forward and huffed, “I said stand down!” they fired a warning shot. Jeff laughed and said 

“Really? You're going to try this now? You're standing in a puddle in your own teammates blood.” with that statement, they fired a few shots at Jeff before shouted “Just die already!” the killer simple threw a knife in their chest and then made his way to the door. He twisted the door knob and pushed it open, the door cracked as it slowly opened. 

The doctor was hiding behind five guards who immediately started to shoot as he came through the door, one of the bullets managed to graze his shoulder. Jeff saw red for a second before managing to calming himself, he hated cleaning gun wounds more than anything else. There was no individuality in bullet holes they all left the same thing. He threw a lamp post at the group and lunged for the one who had managed to hit him. 

He didn’t stab him but instead let his friends use him for target practice a bit before pushing the dead body at them and getting close enough to the next guard to stab them twice and then moving onto the next. 

The next guard was faster than the rest and managed to dodge his attacks, Jeff rolled out of the way of a bullet and grabbed the downed guard gun, he shot the one that kept dodging and shot another before tossing the empty gun at one approaching him. The doctor shook as he clutched the case handcuffed to his wrist. 

* * *

Jeff exited the build with the briefcase in hand, it was covered in a bit of blood but all in all in perfect condition . He met the other killer walking toward the forest and was greeted, “Finally!” Jack shouted and got up from the stump that he had been sitting on. Jeff tossed the briefcase at him, “ here put this in you pocket” Jack caught the briefcase and flipped it over, giving it a good look. “Wow, so this is it? Looks kinda plain for something so important” 

Jack exclaimed and slipped the case into his pocket. They walked into the forest, disappearing from the hotel as silently as they had arrived.

A kilometer in Jack stopped, his eyes widened, his back straightened and his head swerved around, “Jeff stop” he whispered. The other stopped walking, having gone a bit ahead of him. “What” he whisper shouted back. 

In the distance, sirens blared, Jack growled, “dogs!” 

“aw shit” Jeff muttered, “whatever, we can take them,” the teen said, already taking out one of his knives. “No, Slender said be discreet and we don’t have time to fight the police as well,'' Jack stopped him. Jeff took out a different map and held it out for the other to see as they ran, “if we go through this ski trail rather than this one we’ll get to the export spot faster.” Jack looked unsure, “isn't that cutting it a bit close to the spot Slender told us to avoid?” Jeff huffed, “yeah but we'll lose the dogs that way.”

The foretold pack of dogs finally exploded for the bushes, the two ran harder, the barking of the dogs drew closer with every minute, one dog was practically a leap away from biting Jeff’s sweater and the others were not far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I thought I posted this chapter yesterday 😖


	4. Chapter 4

Outrunning the dogs had forced them too far off their path.

They felt it as soon as they stepped inside the patch of forest that Slender had told them to avoid, the two’s run fell into a jog, into a walk and then finally they both stopped. Their hearts beating almost painfully in their chests as they spun their heads around, looking wildly; they were both filled with the fear of death that neither of them had felt in years. 

Everything behind them fell away, the sirens and barks were only dull notes now and they could only see the stretched out forest in front of them. It felt like the forest had eyes and a crawling sensation went over their skin. Their limbs felt as heavy as lead as they tried to move any other way but forward; leading them farther in. “we need to get out of here” Jack rasped, struggling to turn around. “Yeah, no shit” Jeff growled through his teeth back at him. 

As they managed to turn, their bones popped, the pressure increased with every movement, Jeff’s nose started to bleed; they both felt like they were sinking into the earth. The wind blew through the patch of forest and the branches rasped and whispered “ _help us”._

“Like hell,” Jeff said and tried to lift his leg. Jack on the other hand stood as still as he could while trying not to be crushed by the enormous weight. He slowly took a step backward, following the voices request; and found that the weight that had been crushing him had let up. 

“Jeff wait!” Jack shouted, but it was too late, the other had managed to take another step, as he put his foot down the pressure caused it to twist, Jeff shrieked in pain and fell. “Now that we're stuck in here we need to keep moving forward, whatever this is it won’t let us go back!” the clown tried to explain to Jeff as he lay on the ground struggling to even grasp his now broken leg. Jeff groned, “We don’t know where we’ll end up if we go where this thing wants us to. It’s better we just get out of here”.

“But if we keep trying to go back this forest will kill us!” Jack stated in frustration, he took another step in the direction that the forest wanted them to go and the pressure was almost gone entirely. 

“See!” he said, taking yet another step. Jeff ignored the clown and started to crawl away from the forest, “Jeff! You can’t afford to break something else!” the other continued to not listen, the pressure growing even worse and his breathing became even more laboured. “Jeff!” Jack shouted for the last time before realizing that not even the others chest was moving anymore. 

“Ugh! Why do you have to be so stubborn!” 

Jack said as he stretched his arm and wrapped it around Jeff’s leg, pulling him towards him. Jeff gasped in air with the pressure gone and started to violently cough. “Fuck….. You “ he panted, struggling to get to his knees. “Yeah well fuck you too buddy.” Jack rolled his eyes as Jeff still struggled to get to his feet. Swaying as he finally got up; having to put all of his weight on one foot, clutching his head, he didn’t even bother to wipe at his bloody nose. 

“Good god”, Jack muttered, picking up the other and tossing him over his shoulder. He was met with Jeff violently kicking and thrashing to be let go. “We’ll never get out of here with you like this, just be fucking quiet and let me help you for once”! Jack growled, growing fed up with Jeff’s attitude. Jeff quit shouting, seeing the clown actually angry for once, but still struggled in Jack’s grasp, not wanting to carried in the slightest. The clown started to walk in a hurried pace in the direction that the forest wanted them. An awkward silence settled between the two, with the rasping of the trees only coming back to say ‘this way’ or ‘down here’. 

“Look, I know this sucks.” Jack said finally, refusing to let the tense atmosphere between them get any worse. “But the sooner we get out of here, the sooner I put you down.” 

It was a while before Jeff responded, “I don't need your help”. The clown just laughed in response to that; “ _What a load of bullshit”_. He thought, stopping for a second to reposition the other on his shoulder and listen for the telltale whispering of wind and creaking branches pointing them in a new direction. 

“I didn’t” he gritted between his teeth, hiding barely compressed anger at the situation he found himself in.

“Yeah, sure kid” he replied, patting the others back.

At that Jeff became quiet again, the silence between the two becoming almost suffocating. Jack sped up his walk into a jog, hoping to get out of the forest as fast as possible.

* * *

“Hey,” the clown said breaking the silence, “ If you paid attention to where we were being led, we're about at the edge of this thing. Wherever we're being led it’s not much further.” Jeff ignored him and as the trees thinned out they came to a large, hollow oak. From it hung hundreds of white garlands, looping and twirling in the cool winter breeze; seeming to glow under the moonlight. A sudden wicked gust of wind pushed Jack into a keel at the roots of the old tree.

He dropped Jeff to his side with a notable thump and cursing. The wind had also dusted away some snow piled up on the base of the tree, revealing a sizable divite. Jack reached his hand into the hole before Jeff could even right himself to even see it, pushing aside leaves and roots before pulling out a damaged wicker basket. A sense of foreboding filled him as he pensively flipped open the basket, inside was a faded, worn blanket and and the remnants of a small skeleton. "So…" Jeff said, turning up his nose in disgust, "we're being haunted by a baby?"

"Or, the mummy,'' Jack replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance and picking up the basket. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Jeff said, disgust in his voice as he watched the clown. 

"Taking it with us?" Jack replied, hoisting Jeff back onto his shoulder quickly before the other got the idea to try and stand on his own.

"Whatever brought us here probably just wants us to bury the kid proppery." The wind started blowing again, the branches again creaking as they moved to reveal a before unseen trail. “See, we must be doing something right”

Jeff grumbled as he was forced to come along, the crunching of Jack’s shoes through the untouched snow giving him something to think about other than the shitty situation. 

The path had ended some two miles away, in a grove of old oak and willow trees that seemed to shroud the whole area in their hanging limbs. The burnt remains of a small cabin stood in the shadow of one of the larger weeping willows. It's charred outline giving off a foreboding aura; telling of what could have happened here. The door of the cabin creaked open only an inch as they approached the remains of what was probably once a very nice porch.

A blinding, white figure peeked shyly through; tentative gazing at both men. In all sense of the word, she was beautiful. Her ethereal glow highlighted her sharp cheeks, long hair, and glowing, emerald eyes. She was dressed in burt rags that floated all around her and the still lit ashes floated from her into the air. She gave them a harrowed glare; offsetting her before elegant look and the door started to close again before they could say anything. But the ghosts' eyes made contact with the basket and froze. 

In an instant she was right in front of them; very much so too close for comfort, but Jack held his ground with the ghost. Refusing to show anything after having been so inconvenienced by the spirit. He held the basket out to her and she tentatively reached forward before snatching it out of his hand. In her hands, the once air-tight quite of the woods was broken by the ear splitting cries of an infant. The ghost hurriedly took the infant out of the basket, clutching it to her chest and hushing it; rocking side to side. She whispered inaudibly to the infant before looking back at them with tears of joy in her eyes. She was saying something but neither of them could understand her; looking on in confusion as she continued talking without looking at them, instead lifting her free arm up to the air. She gave them one last smile before she along with her house started to sink into the ground.

Jack was forced to step back as the wind picked up, the snow starting to come down heavily; the shards hitting the two. He covered his eyes with his arm for a moment in defence and when he looked back she was gone.

  
  


  
  



	5. Chapter 5

The forest that had before been alive with movement and character was now deadly still. It was as if, with the absence of the cabin, the essence and power that had been surrounding the forest had gone along with it and they were now left with its silhouette. With its absence the energy that had before been keeping them trapped there dissolved.

Jack sighed in relief as his senses were given back to him. For a moment, Information fluided his mind, he could feel the husks of every dying tree around him, the rumbling of a nearby stream that had started to defrost, the very worms in the ground beneath him. And most importantly, he could hear the echo of sirens of the emergency services still rushing to the hotel on the wind.

He was interrupted from surveying the area by Jeff punching him in the side. The clown looked down at the other that he had almost forgotten he was carrying. _“Oh what a joy it would be to forget about you completely”_ he thought bitterly, giving Jeff an annoyed glare. Jeff shot one right back at him before saying,

“you felt that didn’t you? Lets get a fucking move on before that witch decides she wants us to fetch something else” 

“of course I felt that,” he struck back, his patience running thin, “it’s just unlike you, I want to take a moment to make sure we’re not running into anything else that might stop us” he added, closing his eyes once again and scouting ahead. 

Jeff shot something back at him but he tuned it out in favour of looking ahead.

Once he had scouted ahead far enough Jack nodded, now that the curse was lifted he could finally travel at a much faster speed. Readjusting Jeff at his side, he took off through the woods.

* * *

As they reached their discarded van hidden in the dense forest brush, they had to duck as another ambulance came tearing down the road, nearing tipping over on the sharp turns of the french mountain side. 

Not wanting to risk another inconvenience, the clown grabbed the keys out of his pocket and tossed Jeff into the back seat. The other let out a stream of curses towards the clown who tuned them out in favour of getting in the front seat. He only looked back briefly at the other in the rearview mirror before starting the van and driving off. 

As the clown drove Jeff finally lowered his defences enough for the adrenaline rushing through his body to finally slow down. With it came all the pain of a twisted ankle, a broken leg, bruised ribs, and a possible concussion that he had been doing his best to ignore. He managed to prop his leg up on the seats before passing out 

For 3 hours Jeffery Woods was dead to the world

At one point during the drive Jeff had tried to sit up and had immediately lowered himself back down, as his vision went in and out and his stomach rolled. “Slow down, you fucking prick” he had horsely muttered from the back as Jack drove at a moderste speed (moderate for someone without a licence).

He woke finally as Jack closed the van door and went as far as to hoist him out.

“Wait”, Jeff rasped,, “Wait” he said again, this time louder, trying his hardest to thrash out of the clown's grip. “Ok, Ok!” the clown stopped walking as he almost dropped the other. “what’s gotten into you all of a sudden, hm?” 

… “le me go” Jeff struggled to say, which got Jack to give him a puzzled look, “why? We’re almost home. Surely you can wait a few more minutes for me to walk to the door.”

“No, put me down now, Jeff almost growled at the clown, there was a flood of unfiltered contempt in his eyes. So much so that Jack could pracitaly read the other’s mind

“ _I’ll swing at you if I have to”_. 

The clown's mind added for him _“a cornered animal bites the fastest”_ Jack lowered the other slowly to the ground before letting him go. He took a moment to catch his breath and find his balance, leaning himself against a tree before slowly limping forward.

A walk that should have taken them 10 minutes, took 25; as Jack followed behind Jeff at a comfortable distance. Keeping quiet as the other stumbled a few times but kept standing, keeping the pain in as he put weight on his broken leg. Jeff stubbornly kept limping till they reached the door and Masky opened it for them.

 _“What happened?”_ Slender asked _,_ Jeff was putting noticeable more weight on his right leg then his left and Jack had slight cracks covering his face. “We got stuck in that patch you told us to avoid.”

He sighed, “ _Did I not-”_ Jeff interrupted “Yeah, we didn’t really have a choice” he limped past Slender and threw himself into a waiting armchair. Struggling, he rested his broken leg on the ottoman, ignoring the now annoyed Slender. Jack took a seat as well, sighing in relief at being able to rest. _“Did you at least retrieve the case?”_

“Yeah, got it right here boss” Jack said patting his side, he pulled the briefcase out of his pocket and handed it over. Slender looked it over quickly before putting it way, signing he stated. _”the goal of your mission was reached, but what matters most is that your are both back safe, good work gentlemen.”_

He turned to leave but stopped, “ _Jeff please make sure to go to Eyeless Jack and receive medical help before the night is over and Jack please go eat something”._ And with that last order Slender warped away, presumably to his office.

With Slender absent, Jeff sunk deeper into the armchair in relief, putting his arm over his face to block out the numerous lamps strung around the sitting room; the bright light not helping the spots in his vision. Jack meanwhile reached back into his pocket and pulled out a jar of brightly shining orbs. 

All in one motion he opened the jar, pulled a few orbs out and then closed it back. Popping them into his mouth with delight. The cracks that before covered his face were slowly filling themselves and his whole being slightly glowed as his body healed from the mission.

Once the glowing started to fade Jack got up and stretched, twisting his limbs at impossible angles before sighing in relief. He took one last look back at Jeff before walking off to find his usual group.

* * *

“Supp LJ'', BEN greeted as the clown entered the kitchen, head down as he stirred a pot and checked his phone while Sally sat at the table. “Jack!” Sally shouted and got up, she hugged the clown's waist and smiled up at him. “Hey Salsberry '' he said as he smiled down at her, picking up the little ghost and resting her on his shoulder. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed them both a soda. Sitting at the table booth he looked at the workbooks and coloured pencils covering it, 

“So what you got going on here, hm?” he asked as he examined the books, they were filled with math exercises. “Well…” she started to explain, leaning over to point at the books, “Slender said children my age should be doing this kinda of stuff.”

He gave her a puzzled look, “your age? Kids your age don’t do anything but sit in the ground and rot.” He said, smiling as he continued to flip through the books. “That's what I told him! But he didn’t care!” she said without pause, having grown used to the typically dark humour that thrived in the house. She pouted as she added, “he said it was still important for me to learn”.

“Ya need any help”? Making a cross over where his heart would be, he added “Promise not to tell Boss if you don’t”. 

She giggled before nodding her head yes, drinking her soda and letting Jack write the answers down while BEN pretended to not notice. 


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff left Eyeless Jack’s room with a casted leg, wrapped ribs, crutches, and enough pain killers to kill an elephant. He fumbled up the stairs as quickly as possible; while taking extra care to avoid the more used hallways to arrive at his room. Allowing anyone see him like this was inexcusable. ~~He made a mental note to talk to Slender about installing elevators in the mansion~~

Once inside his room, he let the crutches drop to the floor, peeling off his bloody coat and hoodie and tossing it into the corner with the rest of his laundry. 

“Shit”, he muttered only now realizing that he must have forgotten his gym bag in the van and would have to go get it as soon as possible, preferably before someone went through his things. Grunting in pain, he lowered himself into the memory foam mattress, cursing again as he realized that he had forgotten to turn off the light and was now unsure if he was even able to get back up after dragging his body past it’s limit.

He pulled his pillow over his face and screamed, the muffled shout contained to his room.

 _“This mission was a fucking mess!”_ Dried blood covered his pants and it was getting all over his bed but at the moment he didn’t care. 

This mission was probably his worst one yet, his decision to take a shortcut had gotten both he and Jack hurt, his stubbornness had almost gotten him killed. He knew if he had gone on that mission alone he would have made the same decisions and would be lying dead in that forest. And to make it all worse, the fact that _Laughing Jack_ of all people had been the voice of reason and the only reason that he was even able to be screaming into his pillow right now made the situation unbearable. He groaned, “ _this is exactly why Slender didn’t let you go alone”._

Deep down, it had irked him whenever Toby or BEN would go on missions by themselves but Jeff had never been asked or really ‘trusted’ to go alone. He was sure that he had more experience than at least Toby. But then again, the axe wielder had been employed by the pale man since he was a kid, he was a well trained hitman, regardless of how immature he acted while at the mansion. He’s been fucked up long before you ever were.

 _“After this Slender has no reason to let you go by yourself anywhere”._ His demons whispered in his ears, their voices painfully familiar. It had been a long time since they had last tormented him with his own insecurities; from times that were far behind him. 

“ _No matter how big you act, your no better than a child”_

He tried to tune them out but now that they had weaselled their way into his thoughts, it was hard to silence them once again. Their voices bringing back past failures and moments of weakness that he had long-buried. If it wasn’t for the fact that he couldn’t cry, he might have in frustration; but just that thought alone worked to make him even angrier at himself.

That he felt so _weak_ that he needed to visibly show it disgusted him. He was fucking past that. Ignoring the sound of ripping fabric as he dug into his pillows, he buried his head deeper into what remained of the once very expensive goose down.

He groaned again, this time blindly digging a pocket knife into the well-worn headboard. “that fucking clown had to carry me out”. 

* * *

Waking up, he was at peace for a bliss a few seconds before he remembered the events of the night earlier; surprised that in his depressive cycle, he had even managed to fall asleep. He thought about going back to bed, falling back into blissful ignorance of what went on around him.

That way he wouldn’t have to face the expectant faces waiting for him at the dining table nor the whispers probably already floating around the mansion about the details of their mission. 

Not to mention the smug face of that clown. Mostly likely wanting a word of gratitude or some sort of favour for saving him. It would be even worse if the clown decided to lord it over him for over acting so high and mighty over wanting to go on the mission alone.

But, then again, the idea of Jack being the sole source of information on what transpired left him with a low feeling in his gut. Allowing the clown to run rampant with his stories and potentially turn him into a damsel in distress who had fallen into the clown's arms begging to be saved? Fuck no. Hell fucking no.

Even worse would be if people heard only Jack’s side of the story and thought Jeff was hiding out in his room. Part of him (the no good, stupidly naïve part of him) reasoned that even just being seen around the mansion would do a world of good for his reputation, no talking or socializing needed. As long as people didn’t think he was hiding his face in shame over needing help, then it was perfectly reasonable to leave his room. 

(It was disappointing how many times he believed that part of himself.)

Shifting his weight he managed to sit up, but even his body seemed against the idea as he instantly became dizzy, his head swimming as it forced him to lay back down. How badly he wanted just to go back to sleep, but once the idea of proving himself was in his head, it was hard to get rid of.

This time he got up slower, allowing his body the time to get used to the movement before trying anything else. He instantly felt disgusted as he realized that the sheets stuck to him in the places the blood from before had dried and that the once clean cotton refused to budge.

Pissed, he took the extra time to at least untangle himself from the covers before cutting the rest off the mattress and bundling the remains up for Seed-Eater, the being would be happy for the nesting material.

Trying his weight on his bad leg to see how much he could trust it with, he allowed himself to make mental notes of the things that needed to be done post mission. First was a bath, he hadn’t taken one before he left and now the amount of blood dried in his hair was making it clump together and itch. He could do his laundry and clean off his knives at the same time in the bath, so that was covered. 

Besides getting something to eat, all that was left was a debrief with Slender, but considering the state he was in… that could wait till Slender personally had one of the peanut gallery drag him upstairs. After taking a few steps toward where he threw his dirty clothes, he found that his chest only hurt mostly when he breathed too deeply and thanks to the meds that EJ had whipped up, the pain in his leg felt more like a sprain.

He herded his dirty clothes into the washroom with the end of his crutch, passing the sink as he shuffled them forward. By force of habit or some unknown instinct, he turned his head towards the mirror. 

He stopped shuffling forward as he couldn’t help but stare at the being before him. He couldn’t help but look at the scarred skin covering them, the gashes and scar tissue that made up their mouth, the arch of skin that had been so lovingly removed to reveal more of the eyes underneath. Those eyes that could see the way things truly were, that helped them bring people to the same level of understanding that they had been brought to. 

It all came together to make them.

After all, how could they not be transfixed by what they saw? It was the moment they were born after all. The moment where they had first truly seen the world. 

Just as fast as it had happened, Jeff was brought back to the present. Refusing to acknowledge what had just happened, he quickly turned away from the mirror and resumed shuffling the clothes forward. Soon enough he had them in a pile beside the shower and was prepping the water. Though, the temperature of the water didn't really matter that much since the majority of his skin still wasn’t able to feel much after the incident. It was just something else from his past life that remained a habit for him.

After managing to get most of the blood out of his hair and drying himself off, he set to work filling the bath with water and tossing the clothes in. Squeezing in some soap before leaving the heavily soiled clothes to soak as much as possible. More than enough time to grab his forgotten duffle bag from the van and get started on cleaning his blades. 

Slipping on his house shoes, he took a few more painkillers dry before tucking the bottle into his pocket, grabbing his discarded crutch and leaving his safe haven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: Poor Jeff, even in your new life you can’t stop caring about how people see you 😔  
> Also sorry this chapter took so long to post, I rewrote this chapter twice cause I didn't like how it sounded


	7. Chapter 7

Saying goodnight to BEN and Toby and walking Sally to her room, Jack made his way up the stairs to his own, rarely used room for once. Usually opting to spend the daytime in one of the libraries around the house or watching TV in a common room, he used the room for more of a storage space than anything else.

Tonight though, he had things he needed to get done, one being dealing with blood that still coated his suit, and two, fixing the damage still left on his body from his nasty encounter with the spirit. 

The snack that he ate once he got home was enough to keep his appearance from warping anymore than it already had but he was far from feeling like his usual self. He could still feel the ache in his bones where the pressure had almost grounded him into the snowy earth. Though he had gotten out of the situation better than Jeff, the poor sod with his leg nearly broken in two and chest almost carved in. 

Part of the clown delved into the potential irony of delivering Jeff’s lifeless body back to Slender after the boy had dismissed the clown the whole time. That the other would have made a very nice corpse. In fact it was very easy for Jack to picture him, with his already pale skin and thin frame. Another part commented on how it would be a shame if he had died, that Jack would miss his spitfire personality taking up corners of common rooms and lurking in empty spaces, avoiding the rest of the house. Though Jack dismissed that part of him that would have missed the boy, he was sure it was the same part of him that carried a sense of connection with all of the house's inhabitants and not something separate.

As he reached his room and swung open the door he was met with the smell of butterscotch. It had been sometime since he had actually had butterscotch bubbling away on the now dusty firewood stove, but the smell had a way of working itself into everything it could. 

In his clothes and in his hair, to the curtains and the armchair that sat in the corner full of books. Though, he didn't know if he should be thankful for the sweet smell or not, seeing as it covered the scent of musty books and mothballs from all the things he had collected over the years. Such as the stale scent of popcorn and the iron tint of blood that had followed him for as long as he could remember. Those smells reminded him of who he was, and how he had changed from what he was supposed to be; changed from what he was created for. How he had transformed from an angel's gift for a lonely boy - to what he was now.

Though what he was now, he had no idea. In all reality, he should have stopped working years ago, after the boy had passed he should have gone promptly after; back to the angel or wherever he had originally come from to receive his punishment or whatever awaited him. He knew when he was created that his life was tethered to the boys; life long friends that they were supposed to be. The perfect friend for all of time. His interests would be his interests; his dislikes would be his dislikes; and his habits would be his habits. If that included murder and torture then so be it.

After the boy had first passed and nothing had happened; after he had waited the night and then some, waited the weeks till the rats and maggots had their feast, till only bones were left and the building around him was brittle to the touch, did he pick up the remains along with his home turned prison and leave under the cover of night. He couldn’t remember much after that, only the spare glimpses of London's sewers and the homeless from afar huddled around fires on the coldest nights. He kept to the shadows when he could and used illusions to mask himself when he couldn’t; though it got harder and harder to do over time.

he had not realised how lonely he was until he saw her. 

A little girl who could not be more than six years old. He could not remember her face but he did recall her nest of hair. A mix of brown and red like the copper coins he sometimes would find; like the teddy bear in the window she had been begging her poor mother for when he had first seen her. The woman weighed heavily by her work shift and struggling to stay on her feet. She was rough and rowdy; yelled and cursed. She was nothing like the boy; maybe she would be better.

With that thought was how he created his plan. He watched her for a bit more, took note of her route home and the baker which she liked to sneak off to in the afternoons to beg for the burnt edges and ruined buns the day had produced. Knew she had a habit of traversing up and down the alleyway behind her home when there was no one to play with, yelling at the top of her lungs all sorts of songs till her mother or a neighbour would come out and beg her to stop. He had grown accustomed to sitting below the window sill of the families home during the witching hour; as the mother would put the girl to sleep with a story and kiss and then wake early the next day to mend ripped clothes and and ready the day's meal. All those days he watched, he never saw a father. 

His plan had been to place his box in the alleyway for her to find, that her curiosity would get the best of her and she would wind back the handel. He knew he did not look as jolly and friendly as he once did but perhaps if he was careful; if he didn’t smile too wide or stand too tall, she would welcome him. He had planned it all out; that he would do it the next day, while her mother worked extra hours to put food on the table. He would make friends with the girl and not be lonely anymore, perhaps even his color would start to come back.

His non-existent heart had been crushed when he witnessed it the night before as her mother tried to get her to bed. The girl proclaimed that she was not tired, jumping on her bed and making a mess of the family’s main living space. She threw a tantrum and fought her mother every step of the way. Kicking and screaming with no end in sight. It managed to escalate even more so when she started to throw things. So blind was her rage that she threw her prized doll, whose head and limbs were made of porcelain.

while it had seen better days, he thought it had been well loved. The way he had seen the girl carry it everywhere and talk to it as if it could talk back to her. As it shattered, the screaming did not stop screaming even for a moment. The doll only a casualty in her fury.

The pieces of the dolls head seemed to stare back at him from his spot at the window as it lay forgotten. He could not take his eyes off of it, how profound the image shook him. There was a ringing in his ears and before he knew it he was in the house. He did not remember even moving but now he was in the house standing in front of the still frame of the girl and her mother. She looked so peaceful now that all the screaming had stopped. Dressed in her pale blue nightgown and with her hair half brushed, covering parts of her face. Parts of her cheeks were still rosely and tears stained from her tantrum.

That was only of the only time since his creation that he had cried.

He cried.

He cried because he remembered his purpose.

He was a toy, to be used discarded as his child grew. Even if his plan had gone through to make friends with the girl, he would have ended up just like the doll. Broken and forgotten once again. She would have cast him aside just like the boy had. That was the nature of a child.

Once he had dried his eyes, he picked up the pieces of the doll, taking care to find each one, and placed them back where they belong, though his illusions had gotten weaker, he found he could do at least that. Back together he placed the doll in the girls bed, now never to be used again. Perhaps when someone finally found the bodies they would sell the meger belonging the mother had owned; perhaps the doll would be sold to a new child; perhaps they would be loved again. 

As he was leaving he saw it in the corner of his eye. Floating from the girl's body was the faintest light. He dared to near it as it floated higher and higher to the point where it was almost to the ceiling. He could not hold out any longer and reached for it. He caught it easily in his large hands. it was warm to the touch and shawn like the girls eyes once did. As he brought it closer to his face, he could hear the girl's laughter. Suddenly there was a pain that went through him. It felt like a gash had opened in his torso, how intense the pain was. His mouth filled with saliva, he had to swallow it back to keep from making a mess of himself. He could feel his eyes grow larger as they could focus on only the light still cupped in his hands.

Is this what it was like to huner? What the scrawny dogs in the street and the homeless felt as they begged for their scraps?

It made sense in a way, that one created for a child would hunger for the souls of other children. That the girls happened to be his first meal made all the more sense. Maybe that had been his purpose all along; maybe he should have killed the boy as well when he was young.

If he was wrong in that belief then it mattered little, he couldn’t be more damned if he wanted to. With that final though he placed the light in his mouth. It tasted sweeter than he imagined possible. The warmth it filled him with was brighter than the sun.

As he left the house, he left with a new found strength, he walked faster and traveled in the shadows with ease. Creating illusions became much easier too for a time; until he felt the hunger consume him again. Though knowing how to get rid of it , he carried out the task as quickly as possible.

It was a long time after that before he bothered to entertain the idea of befriending another child. Each time he would observe the same thing, each time he would go into a rage. It became easier to do; easier to kill the children before he could witness them grow tired of their toys. Easier to take from them what he needed to survive. If he made few friends along the way, friends such as Oto, who knew what it was like to be treated like a mere object, then he was all the better for it.

As he finished putting away the souvenirs that he had collected from his mission, he pulled a book at random from his shelves and turned it over in his hands. An author signed copy of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that he remembered fondly snagging from a burning bookstore earlier in his travels. Jack pulled his eyes away from his book at the sound of a knock on his door. He could smell a strange mix of lavender, stale blood and metal polish with the hint of a medical scent that only came from cleaning wounds. Sighing, he put down the book before going for the door.

“Jeff? What a surprise” he had not expected to see the boy so soon after the mission, he had fully expected him to be resting in his room for at least the next couple days. Though what he could want, the clown had no idea.

“I just wanted to say so-… sorr-...

...Fuck!” Jeff shouted, likely unaware that the clown had even spoken to him, how tense he seemed. Turning his head away and putting his free hand in his hoodie, his other held the crutch he needed to keep balanced. His outburst echoed down the hall and at the late hour was probably heard by Toby three doors down.

His eyes went wild as he tried to start his sentence over again, the clown couldn’t tell if his lips were turned downward in disgust or embarrassment. Jack could barely stop himself from laughing. “Hoo, so wait, let me get this straight. You knocked at my door at three in the morning, just to say ...fuck?” his lips twitched as they struggled not to turn upward.

The teen was practically bristling now, his signature sweater making him look like a puffed up cat; he had pure hate in his eyes for the clown.

“Grh, no you giant waste of space, I came to say…” the boy stopped again mid-sentence, growing more frustrated while Jack watched.

Jack could barely hold it in now, he had trouble controlling his breathing; he knew that Jeff was self centered, high strung, and conceited but he had no idea that it was this bad. That he couldn’t even apologize for almost getting them killed or at least thank the clown for saving his life was a new high that Jack had never seen before. 

He couldn’t help it, was full on laughing now, soon to be heading into wheezing territory. Each guff of his, annoying Jeff to a new found limit. The teen getting redder and redder, which really didn’t help with his pale complexion.

“Jeffery,” he continued, having to lead on the door frame to stop from kneeling over. ”how...incredible direct of you!” he said before giving up and finally breaking into an all out giggle fit. 

Jeff was practically growling now with rage, though there wasn’t much he could do with his broken leg and bruised ribs. The only thing keeping him from pulling out a knife on him was Slender’s strict knife rules that had been implemented after he had first moved in to save the mansion's furnishings. 

In his condition the clown couldn’t help but tease him. “Ahh, Jeffy, come on you can do it; he patronized him, “ go on, use your big boy words”. Jeff swung at the clown with his crutch in fury, the fast movement too much for him is his healing state; he managed to catch his balance at the last moment before he fell to the ground. If that had happened, injured or not, it would likely turn into an all out brawl.

Giving up, he left with one last dirty look shot at the clown, cursing at him with probably every swear he knew.

As he left, muttering swears all down the hall, Jack decided the response he got for his comment was worth the silent treatment he would probably get from the other for the foreseeable future. Even knowing that Jeff had come to apologize to him about the mission, he still couldn’t think of not making fun of the hot headed killer at least once in his beaten and bruised state.

Toby’s head popped out of his room, his hair a mess and a sleeping mask pushed up on his forehead. He was holding one of his hatchets in hand “What the hell is going on out here!”

Ah, the clown forgot how ornery Toby could be when woken up early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update, schools been hitting real hard.  
> tbh, thinking of the height difference in this chapter is what kept me going (#0_0#)  
> https://www.mrinitialman.com/OddsEnds/Sizes/compsizes.xhtml?Jeff~male~190.5_Jack~male~243.8


End file.
